Should Faith Influence a Citizen's Vote?

To loosely paraphrase a story, when presented with a coin and questioned as to whom it belongs, Christ replied by asking the question of 'whose image is on it?' The man answered, "Caesar". To which Christ states, 'Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and give unto God that which is God's."

The general interpretation of this passage in the New Testament is that Christ is delineating the responsibility of the individual to participate in the support and governing of their community (even if under duress) to the limit that it does not impinge on the requirements that God has set forth for faith to be a living and real thing. There are things that are of this world, and there are things that are of God. The two, as Christ illustrates, co-exist but need not intertwine.

Christ, as Buddha and Mohamed, lived and taught in much simpler times. They spoke to a public that lived under authoritarian, oligarchic or dynastic rule. Laws and decisions were made out of the public sphere. There was no arena for input or commentary before the fact, only reaction after. Modern democracy presents a much more complicated dilemma for the faithful.

If you are an integral part of what is now taken to be Caesar, because you are empowered to vote, then what has happened to the clear line between your responsibilities to Caesar and your responsibility to God? The decisions that are made reflect the effort you have exerted to influence the governing of your society. The act of voting or the act of not voting has almost equal power. The line between personal influence and societal involvement is not as clearly separated in a democratic society as it is under a regime.

Faith guides how you act morally and ethically. Faith is most a matter of personal development; you cannot help someone else in his or her faith until you are steady in your own. Faith influences your expectations, outlook and how you treat others. It also has much to do with your ability to survive life.

Democratic Society governs how you act legally and ethically based upon a majority review and approval of the issues and choices. Society is most a matter of group development, the individual is most often sacrificed for the good of the whole. The society you live in influences your actions and choices. It has much to do with your ability to progress in your life.

Faith is a commitment to develop your self. Society is your commitment to live within a group.
Faith warns of succumbing to the groups' will if it conflicts with the tenets of your faith. Society warns of an extreme focus on the individual that will cease to allow the whole to function.

If one of the things that faith guides a person on is your interactions with others and your expectations, does not this also influence your interaction with Society on the decision making level concerning how society governs the actions of others?

Participation in Faith is participation in a school of training in Morality and Ethics. This is not the same as taking classes in Morality and Ethics. The expectation is that what you learn does not increase your knowledge and ability to make choices, but that it changes your life completely and governs your choices. In a democratic society, a person of faith cannot but vote according to their beliefs, or they are not a person of faith at all, merely someone educated in that particular story.

The Democratic Model is designed to govern a populace of minorities for the good of all and the least amount of harm to the some. How can a person of faith be a part of a democracy if their assumption is that their beliefs, morally and ethically, are the better way to live? That assumption negates the democratic mandate to represent the totality of the population. From a distance, the appearance of voting by one's faith sets up a kind of anarchistic approach to governing the populace. Unless the current moral trend follows your faith, the democratic model is undermined.

The Model is built upon a core assumption of common rights shared by all persons. The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are its cornerstones. In as much as what you believe in does not inflict injury or imprisonment on another, you are free to pursue your beliefs. The policy makers and representatives of the people in the Democratic Model are charged with balancing their personal beliefs and the beliefs of the people they represent against the core rights that govern the democratic structure. These policy makers are to provide the checks and balances against the popular mandate. Popular mandate, driven by faith or not, may not always be in the best interest of democracy.

It is not a question of whether or not one should vote according to one's faith; one must or not be true to your faith. The question is, is it possible for a person of faith to uphold the democratic tradition as a policy maker? Through the Bill of Rights the Democratic Model is designed to withstand the influence of any one dominant school of Morality and Ethics; however, it is dependent on the persons in charge of presenting bills, voting and etc. in Congress to understand that they represent constituents, elected according to faith, in a society governed by Rights. Caesar is the Right, and we give to that the running of our society. We give to God, through our faith, our input via the methodology of politics to have our voices and preferences heard.

Public Officers may not vote in accordance to their faith, as they are representatives of a populace that includes many different faiths. They have an individual charge to live their own lives within their faith and represent their constituents in the manner deemed most beneficial according to the Rights outlined in the Democratic Model. Yet, can they serve both God and Mammon? Is there a place in faith, for such a person and are their requirements for being considered 'faithful' different from those who are not in such a position?

There is no right answer to that dilemma, only guidance. There will always be times and there will always be issues in which the political life of the candidate is deemed more important than the impact or effect of the decisions made. That is a reality in the world today.

Those among us, who are called to office, have the most difficult charge. For them the solace lies in the stories of Christ breaking bread with the tax collectors rather than those "untainted". For Christ understood the realities of life, that not all answers are simple and not all situations easily resolved. The rest of us, need to mind our development as disciples of the faith of our choice and to show up and be heard on issues. The Bill of Rights and our Constitution allows for reasoned consideration and reconsideration of the Moral and Ethical problems of our times. A voice not heard, a voice that does not exercise its freedom, a soul that denies itself the right of religious freedom and does not bring to the table all that it makes a person, in the end, denies society the food of participation and opinion of its citizens.

To vote outside of the ethics and morals of ones' faith is to say that the faith is only good "so often". We have no other resource to judge what is right or what is wrong, what path to travel and what decisions to make then the moral compass inside of us. The purpose of faith is to parent that moral compass, influence and develop it. It is to help us determine our choices. The Democratic Model allows us to participate in our own governing. Yet we must bear in mind that the balance of Rights against Beliefs is the only thing that keeps us from becoming a non-representative society. Vote by your conscience and beliefs; vote as well, for the strongest candidate who promises not to advance your beliefs, but promises to safeguard your voice.